ee almost as soon as his
rider which cow was wanted and he needed small guidance from that time
on. He would follow hard at her heels, edging her constantly toward the
flank of the herd, at times nipping her hide as a reminder of his own
superiority. In spite of herself the cow would gradually turn out
toward the edge, and at last would be swept clear of the crush, the calf
following close behind her. There was a whirl of the rope and the calf
was laid by the heels and dragged to the fire where the branding irons
were heated and ready.

Meanwhile other cow-punchers are rushing calves to the branding.
The hubbub and turmoil increase. Taut ropes cross the ground in many
directions. The cutting ponies pant and sweat, rear and plunge. The
garb of the cowboy is now one of white alkali which hangs gray in his
eyebrows and moustache. Steers bellow as they surge to and fro. Cows
charge on their persecutors. Fleet yearlings break and run for the open,
pursued by men who care not how or where they ride.

We have spoken in terms of the past. There is no calf round-up of the
open range today. The last of the roundups was held in Routt County,
Colorado, several years ago, so far as the writer knows, and it had only
to do with shifting cattle from the summer to the winter range.

After the calf round-up came the beef round-up, the cowman's final
harvest. This began in July or August. Only the mature or fatted animals
were cut out from the herd. This "beef cut" was held apart and driven on
ahead from place to place as the round-up progressed. It was then driven
in by easy stages to the shipping point on the railroad, whence the long
trainloads of cattle went to the great markets.

In the heyday of the cowboy it was natural that his chief amusements
should be those of the outdoor air and those more or less in line with
his employment. He was accustomed to the sight of big game, and so had
the edge of his appetite for its pursuit worn off. Yet he was a hunter,
just as every Western man was a hunter in the times of the Western game.
His weapons were the rifle, revolver, and rope; the latter two were
always with him. With the rope at times he captured the coyote, and
under special conditions he has taken deer and even antelope in this
way, though this was of course most unusual and only possible under
chance conditions of ground and cover. Elk have been roped by cowboys
many times, and it is known that even the mountain sheep has been